


Gift Shopping with a Cold Sucks (Except for When it Doesn't)

by niennavalier



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Fluff, Humor, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Pre-Slash, Sick!Len, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-19
Updated: 2017-01-19
Packaged: 2018-09-18 13:27:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9387191
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/niennavalier/pseuds/niennavalier
Summary: The holiday season is around the corner, which means getting gifts for loved ones even when the circumstances are...less than ideal. Hence why Len has to figure out how to buy some perfume Lisa had taken a shine to, while fighting the beginnings of a cold. The whole trip is going pretty dismally...Until a certain stranger approaches him, more than willing to help.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I'm trash and wrote more sickfic. That's really it. This is literally unedited and I'm just posting now because I feel like it. (Although I'll probably come back sometime soon and actually check over some things. We'll see). This is honestly kinda ridiculous, way more random than my other sickfics (if you couldn't tell by the title and summary, probably), and set in some universe where Barry isn't the Flash. So, enjoy!
> 
> Also, URL for the prompt in the endnote (cause I still don't really know if the html thing is working).

    Sniffling and rubbing his tired eyes, Len wandered into the department store, planning to grab Lisa’s gift as fast as he could and get the hell out of the too-bright mall, looking forward to collapsing into his bed with an extra dose of cold meds. Last he’d checked, his fever hadn’t been too high, but he was just  _ tired _ , and his nose really didn’t like him, stuffy, sniffly, and so runny, forcing him to hide the way he constantly had to wipe away the mess, suffocate his sneezes, trying not to draw attention to himself. Which he’d managed, even though every stifled sneeze took its toll, his nose swollen and itchy as he craved a safe place where he didn't have to hide his symptoms, could finally find relief. But at the mall - he was trying so damn hard to not look sick out of his mind. He hated every second of it.

    So he didn’t know if it was a blessing or a curse when he happened upon the booths selling perfumes.

    He hadn’t even thought about it, really, what might happen when he got around that area, but then the first hint of perfume reached his increasingly sensitive nose, made it tickle and twitch. Len’s breath hitched, and he pinched desperately at his nose, knowing all he could do was delay the inevitable as he retreated to the opposite wall, secluding himself in a quieter part of the store. Even pinched, his nose refused to stop itching and...and “Ahh...ah...ah- _ choo! _ ” The wet mess was finally blown from his poor, sore nose, but the sneezes were far from done, his sick body apparently determined to find the release he’d been denying it. Wet sneeze after sneeze kept coming as he leaned against the wall, shoulders curled in on himself, recoiling from the force.

    When the fit was finally over, Len sniffled again, closing his eyes against the fatigue and letting out a tired sigh before mopping up the mess of his nose and upper lip. At least, if nothing else, for as exhausted as it had left him, the release...it had felt good, made it feel like some of the pressure in his head was gone.

    “Hey, um, are you okay?”

    Len’s head snapped up, tissue still pressed to his face because his brain wasn’t working fast enough for him to think of lowering it. Because he really should’ve. Since he could only assume he wasn’t so tired and delirious as to hallucinate the cute boy in front of him. Tall and lanky with windswept brown hair, an embarrassed blush coloring his cheeks to match the concern in his hazel eyes.

    “I just, um, heard that and it sounded kinda bad and I just wanna make sure you’re fine? If that’s not too weird?”

    The kid was adorable, awkward and turning every sentence into a question. Len just wished he didn’t look as terribly sick as he surely did. He lowered the tissue, trying his best to overcome the way his stuffed nose plugged up his voice. “I’m f...fi…” a wisp of the scent of perfume wafted by, tickling his nose again, and… “Ah...ah- _ choo _ !” He sneezed another handful of times into the same, used tissue, vaguely aware of the kid backing up a fraction in response. His shoulders slumped as the second fit passed, and he kept the tissue pressed to his runny nose as he spoke, his voice sounding so awfully, disgustingly congested. “I’m...I’m s-sorry.” He barely avoided not launching into yet another sneezing fit, pressure building in his head again.

    “No! No, it’s okay.” Len blinked up, the kid just as bright as ever. “I’m not gonna blame you for being sick. Or for coming here, cause I figure everyone’s gotta do holiday shopping and it’s not like it’s your fault you got sick, right?” he rambled, rubbing the back of his neck, nervous. Len just found it all endearing. “So, uh, I guess I kinda wanted to check if you wanted help with anything? Not like I’m saying you definitely need help or anything, cause that's your choice and not mine, but, umm…wow, that was totally not smooth at all.”

    Len managed to chuckle softly. “Thanks, kid,” he mumbled through the tissue. And shit - he honestly sounded terrible, even worse with the tissue, but he really didn’t trust himself to not end up sneezing his way through this conversation if he moved it away at all. Hence why, although he’d normally insist he was perfectly fine, he glanced over toward the goddamned perfume booth, started talking. “My sister...she, ah,” Len nodded toward that same booth. Lisa had expressed interest in that brand, but there was no way he’d be able to get within ten feet of the counter without irritating his nose beyond belief, falling into an even worse sneezing fit in the middle of the aisle. Unless he walked up to make the purchase with a tissue held to his nose, sounding and probably looking like death warmed over - something he’d prefer not to do.

    The kid straightened as he understood, heading over, all too eager to help. “Oh! Yeah, of course! How many?” Len gestured for just one, slumping a little more heavily against the wall once the other man had turned around. He sniffled, ineffectual, inside the tissue, trying to avoid wiping the stinging, irritated skin beneath his nose - really, it had already started to sting on its own, even before he’d ever set foot inside this store. God, his nose just hated him, sore and swollen and perpetually runny, too congested for him to even be able to really sniffle anymore, somehow feeling even  _ more _ stuffed after his sneezing fits. The kind of aching, over-stuffed feeling that could only be solved by blowing it, clearing the gunk from it completely - a loud, stuffy nose-blow that came from the onset of a soon-to-be awful head cold, one that Len didn’t feel like announcing he was coming down with. Instead, he settled for trying to massage away the beginnings of a bad headache, softly blowing out just a bit of the runny discharge even if that did nothing for the building pressure in his sinuses, forced him to leave the reddened tip of his nose stuck inside the increasingly disgustingly wet tissue. But between that and whatever sneezing fit would come of him trying to replace it, the tickle of both the perfume and a dry tissue on his nose - he could deal with the discomfort for a bit longer, pinching his nose shut and letting his eyes slip closed until the kid came back, the dark feeling so much better than the overly bright lights department stores were apparently so fond of.

    “Here you go, and, umm, hey, are you sure you’re doing okay?” 

    Len opened his eyes slowly, wincing at the ridiculously white lights, finding the kid in front of him, clearly concerned, hesitantly holding a bag out in the space between them. He nodded carefully in response. “As okay as I have been.” Which probably wasn’t saying much. He’d already felt like shit - an absolutely sniffly, awful mess - for most of this trip. All the perfumes had done was force the sneezes out of him that he’d been stifling up until walking into the store. Which reminded him…

    Without a word, Len reached into his pocket for his wallet, able to flip it open with one hand...but not much more than that. Bracing himself, he moved the tissue from his nose to be able to grab the money he owed, getting so far as pulling the bills out before the smell of perfume tickled his nose, his wallet barely put away before his breath hitched as he held the money out to the kid, willing him to take it quickly. “H-here, take i-it...ahh...ah- _ CHOO!” _ Just in time, the kid obliged, and Len pressed the same used, wet tissue to his nose with both hands, catching the mess of each terribly congested sneeze, turned away as the fit seemed to just keep going, his whole sick body seeming to hate him now. 

    Finally, the sneezes subsided, at least for the moment, and Len remained slumped over a few moments longer, catching his breath, trying to sniffle through his stuffy nose. The tissue in his hands was beyond unusable, and he reached into a different pocket for a fresh one, trying to switch it out with the least collateral damage. In the midst of that, he heard the kid shift a little, saying a cautious, “Bless you?”

    Len intended to answer immediately, except his nose still itched with the soft feel of the new tissue, and he just really, really had to sneeze again. He tried to stifle it like he had been earlier, eyebrows drawn and nostrils pinched tightly, but his nose - hypersensitive now, after all the abuse the perfume smells had put it through - wouldn’t seem to have it. “Th-thanks...ah- _ choo!  _ ...Hah...ah- _ choo!” _ Another couple followed in quick succession, and Len sighed in relief, finally glancing tiredly back up, standing straight again. “I’m really sorry.”

    The smile he got back was blinding. “Don’t worry. I mean, I guess I should feel more sorry, ‘cause you sound pretty sick…”

    “‘S not that bad.” It was; Len’s sore nose and aching sinuses and throbbing head were testament to that. Not that he’d admit that to a stranger. Or anyone, really. 

    Too bad the kid didn’t seem to believe a word of it, his grin just growing wider. “Uh-huh, I’m sure,” he said, the smug look somehow making him even more attractive in Len’s eyes. “Lemme walk you back to your car.”

    “I’m fine. Don’t need you to do that.”

    “I’m not saying you do!” The kid looked surprised, apologetic. “That’s not what I meant. I just mean, well, that cold doesn’t sound good, and I’m leaving right now, anyway, so it’s not like it’s a big deal. Just wanna make sure you’re gonna be okay.”

    Len considered that and shrugged. He wasn’t a fan of some stranger seeing him pitifully sick, but he got a feeling  _ this _ stranger would be stubborn about something like this, and he wasn’t opposed to spending a little more time with such a pretty face. “Fine.”

    “Really? Awesome.” As they started toward the parking lot, Len still keeping the tissue up by his nose, not taking chances until he was out of this goddamn store entirely, the kid suddenly went quiet. “Just, please tell me you’re not, like, a thief or a serial killer or something? But, well, you did pay me back for the perfume, so...”

    Len laughed, a little bitter, the sound quickly turning to a cough. Which...was just great. There went any chance of passing off his cold as allergies or something equally mundane to anyone who might ask. “Shoulda started with that, kid. Could just be a smarter criminal than you're used to.”

    “Wait...so...for real, please say you’re not, or else my sister’s never gonna let me hear the end of it. Or she’ll, like, tease my ghost forever, I guess, depending if I’m dead.”

    Len chuckled a little more easily. “I’m not. Your sister sounds like mine, though.” He sniffled as softly as he could manage, wiping up everything the tissue hadn’t immediately caught, really wishing he wasn’t so congested because he actually  _ had _ to blow his nose. Badly.

    Luckily, the man beside him didn’t seem to notice, laughing, quiet but carefree, at their conversation. “Right, your sister. That’s who you got this for, right?” Len nodded. “For, like, Christmas? Or Hanukkah? Or…?”

    “Neither. We didn’t really...grow up with holidays.”

    “What? Why?”

    “Long story.” Even if Len were willing to explain, which he wasn’t, he didn’t exactly have the energy to do so anyway. He was honestly pretty sure that whatever meds he’d taken before were wearing off, leaving him in want of little more than a dose of NyQuil and a long nap. “We reconnected a little while ago, though, and she wanted to celebrate something. Gifts and the like.”

    “So it’s just the two of you?”

    “A couple friends, Lisa’s date,” Len shrugged and didn’t elaborate. It really was a small affair; a few drinks, a rare quiet night at one of their places, not much else.

    “Lisa’s your sister?”

    Len looked over sharply. He hadn’t realized he’d even used Lisa’s name. Something to blame on his cold; he was normally better at keeping personal information to himself. The name definitely hadn’t slipped out because the kid was easy to talk to. He couldn’t let that be the case.

    He didn’t feel like lying about that, not at the moment, just responded with a tired “Yeah”, as they approached the door. The cold air rushed to meet him as they stepped out, Len shivering mildly under his layers, but as he dropped the tissue from his face, breathing in the fresh air, it soothed his inflamed sinuses, made it feel like he could breathe easier, if only for a moment. At least, until he was back to coughing again, his lungs not quite as pleased with the sudden change and his nose still running, entirely unaffected. Shrugging off the obvious attempts by the kid to help, Len returned to plugging his runny nose with his tissue, continuing toward his car, looking forward to being disgustingly sick in private, collapsing in bed and curling into warm blankets to sleep, high on cold meds. He did genuinely appreciate the kid’s company, but the head cold was settling in a little too heavily, made it hard to think about much else. 

    It didn’t take long before Len was unlocking his car door, shortly consumed by another coughing spell that managed to stuff up his poor nose even further. Sniffling thickly and wincing at the pain in his swollen sinuses, Len eventually caught sight of the kid fumbling something into his back pocket. Raising an eyebrow and gesturing with a nod at the bag elicited a surprised jump out of the kid, who handed over the gift sheepishly, like he’d somehow forgotten.

    “Who looks like the thief now?” Len smirked through his tissue, ignoring best he could how his throat burned on every word. Though he was pretty sure that, no matter how sick he was, the sweet, shy smile and downcast hazel eyes would always have been worth it.

    Len never did get an answer, just a hesitant, “Hope you feel better,” in farewell. 

    For whatever reason, Len couldn't keep his smirk from turning into a genuine smile. “Thanks.” And as the kid rounded the corner, disappearing from sight, Len slipped into the driver's seat, proceeding to blow his nose as hard as he possibly could, sighing through his mouth with relief. He blew it a couple more times, more gently than the first, and sank into the seat with a sharp cough. The bright red skin beneath his nose burned as he wiped it clean, and his sinuses hurt like hell, but the alleviated pressure was the only good thing to have happened in the trainwreck of an outing.

    Well, that and...no. The chances they’d meet again were slim to none. Best not to dwell on the cute, adorably awkward boy sweet enough to help him, despite how pathetically he was fighting his oncoming cold.

    Better to just move on.

* * *

 

    Upon arriving home, Len did exactly what he’d planned: downed more NyQuil than was probably recommended, and let the stuff knock him out as he fell into bed, passing out for a few hours. He woke up with the congestion still heavy in his head, his nose still stuffed and swollen shut, aching and stinging as he blew and wiped it. The coughing had actually worsened instead, and Len suspected that his head cold would leave him absolutely miserable by the next morning. So, slightly less tired than before, Len forced himself up, grabbing the bag where he’d left it in the other room, meaning to keep it someone less visible. Leaving it in his closet, he pulled out the receipt, intending to keep it elsewhere, when a flash of ink happened to catch his eye.

    A number, scrawled on the back of the paper, and Len grinned, planning his next move for the moment he wasn’t laid low by illness. And with that number, Len finally had a name to match the face he’d only just met. 

_ Barry Allen. _

**Author's Note:**

> Sooo I totally blame kashinoha for this weird obsession, especially cause I have notes down for another sickfic, just one that's waaaaay angstier. We'll see what happens with that.
> 
> Also, random note on this story: yes, Barry is still a CSI in this verse. As for Len, it's kinda up to the reader what it is he does here, or if he is still a thief, and just lying to Barry. Either way kinda works. *Shrugs*.
> 
> And the URL, as promised: http://sickficprompts.tumblr.com/post/154879490561/kinkyes-a-character-with-a-cold-has-to-go


End file.
